With the release of a new critically acclaimed Mel Gibson film Hacksaw Ridge, its time to appreciate the film that made the Aussie actor famous: the original Mad Max. And yes, it’s better than its overrated sequels
I recently watched last year’s Mad Max Fury Road, and it was exactly as I thought…a bitter disappointment and a blasphemous addition to a great franchise. Although the 2015 reboot/sequel managed to walk away with six Oscars including Best Picture, it failed in almost every single way to capture the essence of the 1979 classic.
To its credit, Fury Road does have some excellent cinematography as well as some impressive production design. As an addition to the franchise, it fails in regards to cast, narrative, and literally anything that made the original fantastic. You cannot even begin to remotely call it a Mad Max film without the main man himself, Mel Gibson playing the infamous Max Rockatansky.
The exclusion of Max’s beautiful Interceptor (unless you count a two minute cameo at the beginning) is a massive disappointment, nor is the story line engaging with the original’s heavy themes of vengeance and vigilantism. The original film on the other hand was a great tale that saw Max going on a quest for vengeance after his family are murdered and unleashes his inner beast in a manhunt through the Australian outback.
One of Gibson’s earliest roles, the thrill of witnessing Max jumping into his V8 interceptor and speeding after the evil biker gang that killed his family and terrorised the citizens of this outback town is undeniably satisfying.
Along with the great story line, comes some of the best cinematography found in Australian cinema, with close up shots emphasising the intensity of sequences and great landscape shots of he vehicles racing around during high octane chase scenes that leave the audience in a frenzy. Director George Miller is phenomenal at keeping the audience on its feet, and with this comes an excellent soundtrack that fits the frightening world presented onscreen.
The ending for the first film is absolutely iconic, a mix of John Wayne and Gary Cooper as Max gains closure after avenging his family, driving off into the sunset as his last adversary is obliterated. Check out the scene below.
This film is excellent for all fans of Mel Gibson, showing us a young man before being shot into international acclaim. Following on from this two years later, he reprised his role as Max Rockatansky on two more films: Mad Max 2 and Mad Max: Thunderdome.
While Fury Road received much fanfare, there’s nothing that can match the quality and intensity of that original 1973 classic.
What do you think? Have you recently revisited an old Mel Gibson classic in time for his latest flick? Comment below.